After mainly Russian-speaking Crimeans voted to separate from Ukraine and join Russia, events are moving swiftly.

But, like Stephen Leacock’s man who flung himself on a horse and galloped off in all directions, Crimea’s ultimate destination is still unknown.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally recognized Crimea as an independent state, raising international hackles.

The Crimean parliament voted to make the Black Sea peninsula — ceded to Ukraine under the Soviet Union in 1954 — a “new subject with the status of a republic” within Russia.

A delegation of Crimean MPs headed for Moscow to make a pitch for annexation to a welcoming State Duma — leaving from an airport that has already been taken over by Russian forces, which now control Crimea’s perimeters.

But while Crimea’s pro-Russian majority clamours for a new status, and Ukraine’s power over the territory plummets, Russia is in hard bargaining with the U.S. and European Union, as western countries ready a series of sanctions.

If Russia succeeds in pushing for greater autonomy for Ukraine’s Russian-speaking regions in return for stepping back from outright annexation, the result could be a softer landing for Crimea’s status in the near term but more uncertainty and instability ahead.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, the annexation process is moving ahead.

According to Duma officials, the parliament is to meet Tuesday to vote on a “strategic document” that would launch the process of annexation, which could take up to six months.

That would give the Kremlin time to hone its strategy on Crimea’s future, and press for its larger goal of moving much of Ukraine closer to Russia and farther from Kyiv’s control.

Officials say that Putin was to meet with Duma members and regional representatives Tuesday, and they were expected to sign an “interstate agreement” on annexation, which would go to the Constitutional Court for drafting of a constitutional amendment.

However, constitutional experts, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, said that “it’s only partially a judicial process, and everything is defined by the political agenda.”

The agreement, along with a new federal constitutional bill, would go to the Duma for final — and virtually certain — approval, defining Crimea’s new status, borders and other measures, including its future name.

Once Russia’s constitution was amended, the divorce from Ukraine would be official in Moscow’s view.

Ukraine and the West reject the referendum and Russia’s annexation, while Ukraine’s acting prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, called the process a “circus” directed by Moscow.

But money may speak louder than angry words.

Cash-strapped Kyiv would likely cut off payments for Crimea’s pensions, benefits, salaries, health care and other services, said Wojciech Kononczuk of Warsaw University, an expert on Russia-Ukraine relations.

“Paying (when) the region is effectively lost is rather impossible,” he said in an email. “Also, Simferopol would reject any money from Kyiv.” And, he pointed out, Russia has already offered Crimea $400 million to keep up payments for pensions and government salaries over the short term.